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Woman found guilty of killing newborn she told police was stillborn

When officers asked Akers about the child's body, she told them that the baby was stillborn.

COLUMBIA, Md. — Editor's Note: The video above was published on April 25, 2019.

A Columbia woman was found guilty nearly four years after killing her newborn son in the fall of 2018. 

According to a press release from the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office, 41-year-old Moira Akers was found guilty by a jury of second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse.

Officials say Akers was taken to Howard County General Hospital after calling for help on Nov. 1, 2018. First responders said Akers did not tell them she had recently had a baby. 

Investigators say Akers gave birth inside her home. When they went to look through the house during a welfare check, officers found a deceased newborn baby boy in a zipped plastic bag under a blanket in a closet with the door shut. 

RELATED: Woman charged with murder after newborn baby found in plastic bag in closet

When officers asked Akers about the child's body, she told them that the baby was stillborn.

An autopsy was performed on the child a day later and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner classified the death as a homicide. The report stated that the child was a healthy, full-term baby and alive when he was born. Officials ruled the cause of death to be asphyxiation and exposure. 

“This was truly one of the most difficult cases my office has ever had to prosecute because we had the burden of proving the baby was born alive,” said State’s Attorney Rich Gibson. "After three and half years of working on this case, we are grateful the jury found Ms. Akers guilty of this heinous crime and we were able to obtain justice for Baby Akers.” 

Akers will be sentenced on July 29, 2022. 

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